LG jumps onto Windows Phone 8 bandwagon

LG is apparently planning to launch its first Windows phones later this year.

According to the Korea Times, LG is planning the Windows Phone 8 push as part of a wider strategy to boost phone shipments in 2013. LG hopes to ship 75 million phones this year, up from 55 million in 2012.

The report also states that LG will enter the phablet space, with a 5.5-inch 1080p device coming in February.

An LG representative told the Korea Times that the company will release “quite a number of new Optimus devices” this year and that it already has some Windows Phone 8 devices in the works.

However, increasing shipments by about 35 percent won’t be easy. LG is facing stiff competition from Samsung, as well as makers of low-cost smartphones such as ZTE and Huawei.